MICROSLEEP CAUSED CAR AND POLICE CRASH - INQUEST
An inquest into the deaths of a couple killed when their car hit a police car has concluded the accident happened after the driver experienced a microsleep.
John and Nerys Jackson, from Bwlchgwyn, Wrexham, died on the A458 in Morville Heath, Shropshire, on 9 December last year.
Shrewsbury Coroner's Court heard their blue Skoda Octavia veered into the path of the police Ford Transit while Mr Jackson was momentarily asleep.
The coroner returned a verdict of death by road accident and said there was nothing police officer Bethan Davis could have done to prevent it.
A microsleep is a very short period of sleep which might last seconds during which the person might nod off or appear awake.
The crash happened after technical support engineer Mr Jackson collected his wife, a teacher, from the airport following a flight from the Ascension Islands.
Emergency services called to the scene, between Much Wenlock and Bridgnorth shortly after 10:15 GMT, found Mr Jackson, 60, unresponsive and he died at 11:03 GMT.
Mrs Jackson, 57, a passenger in the back seat, suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead six minutes later.
Another passenger in the Skoda, a woman in her 20s, thought to be the couple's daughter, suffered serious injuries.
At the opening of the inquest, the court heard police driver Ms Davies, who was not responding to an emergency, was seriously injured in the collision.
The incident was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
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2024-04-17T10:51:15Z dg43tfdfdgfd